Sarah Gorden facts for kids
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Gorden with Angel City in 2024
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sarah L. Gorden | ||
| Date of birth | September 13, 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Elk Grove Village, Illinois | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||
| Playing position | Center back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Angel City | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Eclipse Select SC | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2016–2021 | Chicago Red Stars | 76 | (0) |
| 2022– | Angel City | 46 | (0) |
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Sarah L. Gorden, born on September 13, 1992, is an American professional soccer player. She plays as a defender, specifically a center back, for Angel City FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Before joining Angel City, she played for the Chicago Red Stars. Sarah has been recognized as one of the best players in the NWSL, being named to the NWSL Best XI team twice.
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Early Life and College Soccer
Sarah Gorden was adopted by Jeff and Sue Gorden. She started playing soccer when she was four years old. Her speed on the soccer field also led her to join her high school track team. While attending James B. Conant High School, she played as a defender for the Eclipse Select Soccer Club.
Playing for DePaul Blue Demons
Gorden attended DePaul University from 2011 to 2015. Her parents had also been student athletes at DePaul. Sarah studied journalism and competed as a hurdler on the track team for her first two years of college. She also continued to play soccer.
She scored her first college goal on September 11, 2011, against Minnesota.
Gorden took a break from playing in the 2013 season. She returned to the DePaul Blue Demons in 2014. She helped lead the team's defense to win a conference title. They also made it to the NCAA tournament two years in a row. Her team allowed the fewest goals in the Big East Conference.
In 2014, Gorden was named to the All-Big East second team. She also helped set a school record with a 20-game undefeated streak. This was tied for the longest streak in the nation at the time. In 2015, Gorden was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week four times. She was also named to the All-Big East first team.
Professional Club Career
Chicago Red Stars (2016–2021)
The Chicago Red Stars chose Gorden in the 3rd round of the 2016 NWSL College Draft. She was the 22nd player picked overall. She was the first DePaul Women's Soccer player to be chosen in the NWSL draft. Sarah played her first professional game in the season opener against the Houston Dash.
In January 2021, Gorden signed a new two-year contract with the Chicago Red Stars.
On October 29, 2021, Gorden became Chicago's first "Iron Woman." This means she played every minute of every game during the 2021 NWSL season. She finished second in voting for the NWSL Defender of the Year award.
Angel City FC (2022–Present)
On December 3, 2021, Gorden's playing rights were traded to Angel City FC. This happened before the team's expansion draft. She missed the entire 2022 season because of a knee injury.
Gorden returned to play every minute of the 2023 regular season. She became an "Iron Woman" for the second time in her career. Her team also made it to the playoffs for the first time. She was named to the NWSL Best XI and was nominated for Defender of the Year. On December 19, 2023, Gorden signed a new contract with Angel City. This contract will keep her at the club until 2026.
Before the 2024 season, Gorden was named the team's Vice Captain. She often captained Angel City matches after the main captain, Ali Riley, was injured. On April 21, 2024, Gorden played her 100th NWSL regular-season game as captain. Angel City won that match 2–1 against the North Carolina Courage.
In July 2024, Gorden was named to the NWSL Team of the Month. She won four tackles and had a passing accuracy of 79.34% in 360 minutes played. Gorden led Angel City to the top of their group in the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil tournament. She was named to the NWSL's Team of the Month again for August 2024. She helped her club get one "clean sheet" (meaning they didn't let the other team score). She also had a passing accuracy of 83.2% in 270 minutes played.
International Career
Gorden was first called to join the United States women's national soccer team in December 2019. In October 2020, she was called up to the national team again.
Personal Life
Sarah Gorden has a son named Caiden, who was born in 2014.
In September 2020, Gorden started a nonprofit organization called HoodSpace.
Career Statistics
This table shows Sarah Gorden's games played and goals scored for her clubs each season.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Playoffs | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chicago Red Stars | 2016 | NWSL | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||||
| 2018 | 17 | 0 | – | – | – | 17 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | 23 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| Total | 74 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 92 | 0 | |||
| Angel City FC | 2022 | NWSL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |||
| Total | 46 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 120 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 150 | 0 | ||
Awards and Honors
Individual Awards
- NWSL Best XI: 2021, 2023
- NWSL Team of the Month: 2019: July; 2021: October; 2023: July, September/October; 2024: July, August
Images for kids
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Sarah Gorden playing for Angel City in 2024.
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Gorden (top) celebrating with Angel City FC in 2023.
See also
In Spanish: Sarah Gorden para niños
